Joachim Sauter, a German media artist, designer and technology entrepreneur, passed away on July 10, 2021, after a serious illness. He was 62 years old. Sauter was a professor of new media art and design at the Berlin University of the Arts and an adjunct professor at UCLA, Los Angeles. He was also the founder and head of design of ART+COM, an interdisciplinary design studio that created innovative projects using new technologies.
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A Life of Creativity and Innovation
Sauter was born on May 16, 1959, in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany. He studied design at the Berlin University of the Arts and direction and camera at the German Academy for Film and Television, Berlin. He was fascinated by computers and their potential for artistic expression since the early stages of his work. He was a pioneer of new media, developing and shaping the field from the early 1980s on.
In 1988, he founded ART+COM with other designers, architects, technologists, and artists and scientists. Their goal was to research the new medium in the realms of art and design, emphasizing the translation of information into physical spaces, offering a more communal, reality-grounded experience than could be achieved with computer monitors alone. As the head of design at ART+COM, Sauter led the interdisciplinary group’s experiments, using new technologies to convey complex topics while exploring their potential for spatial communication and art.
A Legacy of Inspiring Projects
Sauter’s work spanned across art and design, creating projects that were both aesthetically and conceptually captivating. Some of his notable projects include:
- Terravision (1994), an interactive installation that showed a virtual representation of the Earth using satellite imagery, commissioned by Deutsche Telekom.
- The Invisible Shapes of Things Past (1995-2008), architectural sculptures made of films that projected historical images onto buildings and monuments, creating a dialogue between past and present.
- Kinetic Sculpture (2008), a kinetic installation that consisted of 714 metal spheres that moved in a choreographed pattern, creating a dynamic three-dimensional display of data and information.
- Symphonie Cinétique – The Poetry of Motion (2013), an exhibition and performance in collaboration with Icelandic musician Ólafur Arnalds, that combined kinetic sculptures and sound to create a mesmerizing sensory experience.
- Petalclouds (2018), a kinetic installation that featured six giant petals that floated and moved gracefully in the air, creating a poetic and elegant atmosphere.
A Loss for the New Media Community
Sauter’s death was mourned by his colleagues, students, and admirers, who expressed their condolences and appreciation for his contributions to the field of new media art and design. According to the Berlin University of the Arts, “His approach to teaching and practice was characterized by conceptual inventiveness, technological innovation, and artistic expression of great beauty. As a teacher, as a colleague, as the founder of the interdisciplinary design practice ART+COM, but most of all as a human being, Joachim leaves a gap that is immensely painful.”
Sauter is survived by his wife and son. He will be remembered as a visionary, a leader, and a mentor, who inspired generations of new media artists and designers with his work and his spirit.
